The Regulation of Restructuring: Corner Brook 1984

• Published in: Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy
• Main Author: Norcliffe, G
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1995
• Subjects: Corner Brook; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/c130315; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1068/c130315

Restructuring is interpreted as an act of social regulation involving negotiations amongst corporate interests, labour, and the state. In Corner Brook, Newfoundland, these interests were brought together in 1984 when the long-time owners of the local paper mill, the main employer in this single-industry town, put it up for sale. Restructuring was essential in order to secure the long-term future of the mill and the town, but its achievement in situ required difficult negotiations. The new forms of production needed to modernise the mill entailed greater structural rigidity in plant operations, matched by greater flexibility of the labour force. This goal was to be achieved through costabilisation of the various elements forming the local regime of accumulation, with the local state playing a key role as facilitator, guarantor, and promoter of restructuring. It culminated in the passage of two controversial acts by the provincial legislature to satisfy the demands of the potential corporate purchaser of the mill.